Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
